A survey commissioned by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) has found that the majority of pharmacists are behind the initiative to dispense medicines to patients in original packs.

The RPSGB asked the views of 4,000 pharmacists and 65 per cent said that snipping packs to supply the right amount was a significant problem.

Ninety one per cent of survey correspondents (3,551 pharmacists) said accessing and providing an additional Patient Information Leaflet was one of the problems with not being able to use original packs.

Other chosen survey answers included the increased time taken to dispense some items (80.3 per cent), mixed batches and packaging leading to a loss of patient confidence in medicine effectiveness (79.1 per cent) and feeling that snipping tablets is unprofessional (77.8 per cent).

RPSGB Director for England, Howard Duff said: “We know the impact that cutting up an original pack can have on a patient’s ability to take medicine correctly either through lost instructions or the possibility of mixed batches.

“It is also time consuming for the pharmacist and can contribute to medicines wastage. We’ve now had a clear signal from the profession that this issue is important to them and we intend to campaign for change.”

The Society’s next step will be to work with the new English Pharmacy Board members on how it can use the voice of its members and other stakeholders to influence the government to implement original pack dispensing.